Wicked Games
by LittleXio
Summary: A story of unrequited love, pain, and loss. It's senior year at Hillwood High and All Hallow's Eve is just around the corner. In preparation, Rhonda, Helga, and Lila turn an abandoned warehouse into their playground for a Halloween music video. However, plans go awry and the set becomes a true house of horror and pain run by someone they never would have suspected.
1. Prologue

Wicked Games

**WARNING: This story is rated M _not_ for sexual situations, although there will be some, but for torture, murder, and gore. Just for the readers out there who are looking for a good smut read, I am also guilty of that, that's not what this story is focused on.**

Prologue

_Many years ago, as the story goes, there once a boy with no parents but enough adopted family to make up for it and a little girl who's family disowned her within their home. With a heart so wounded and vulnerable, it was healed with the simplest gesture of protection in a downpour. And so a series of events over a lifetime was set in motion that came to a climax in a scene upon the FTi building that culminated in Helga G. Pataki bestowing a passionate confession and kiss upon the lips of a dumbfounded and shocked Arnold Shortman. Even though Arnold initially let her get away with saying it was a heat of the moment thing, he eventually asked her out and they started dating. Of course it started fun and exciting but as time progressed, insecurities wreaked their natural havoc and things went sour._

_ They dated for a long time, at least two years, but they broke up in a dramatic scene at school. Arnold was the one to break things off, of course. The drama, the tension, was all too much for the easy going good guy. Helga did no take his rejection well though. Afterward, she pulled away from him completely, never speaking to him, and avoiding him. Arnold didn't really fight too hard to seek her out anyways. Life was just easier without her._

_ Embittered towards Arnold's disinterest and her classmates relentless mocking at her obvious heartbreak, Helga took up the unlikely friendship of none other than Rhonda Wellington Lloyd. She immediately got a makeover, became a "mean girl", and is Rhonda's right hand man. She becomes gorgeous of course but also bitchy and cruel. She and Rhonda rule the school together, the three amigos including Rhonda's long time best friend Nadine. In the summer after their junior year though, a terrible accident happens. While in the park with her bearded dragon, Nadine was bitten by a poisonous snake and died. It's a terrible tragedy and the P.S. 118 group is devastated, with Rhonda being the hardest hit._

_ However, as all things do, life goes on. Lila becomes the third in Helga and Rhonda's trio. The three go everywhere together and rule the school. The Nadine tragedy soon fades into the background as senior year whirls them away and before they know it, Halloween is a few weeks away..._


	2. Look At You

Wicked Games

Chapter One: Look At You

Hillwood High was just your regular, run of the mill high school. They had a corny team mascot, football jocks were gods, nerds got beat up, girls got used, and the world kept on spinning. It was a dog eat dog world out there and these teenagers were certainly getting a firsthand taste of it. But our story here is far from ordinary, bordering on the clinically insane.

High from her spot in the cafeteria, Rhonda watched the insignificant ants below her, scurrying to make sense of their shorts lives so far. She sighed delicately, her chin resting ever so gently in the palm of her hand. She leaned from her seat onto the ledge, just peering over the small metal fence that kept their balcony safe, her thoughts drifting.

"Miss Lloyd. Did you hear me?"

Rhonda turned her head to look back to the table. Ah, yes. Another of her many minions, a spluttering freshman standing at the other end of her table hugging her books to her chest nervously. What was her name again?

"What Celeste?" The weariness broke through the politeness of her tone.

"You wanted to know about the Curly situation?" Celeste bit her lip.

Oh Curly.

Rhonda noticed Ludwig making his way towards the table.

"Not now." She sighed, waving her off. Celeste scurried away and Rhonda's eyes connected with Helga's beside her. She gestured with her head towards him. Helga glanced up lazily.

"Ludwig. Nice to see you." Helga smirked.

"Helga." He grinned slyly. "Babe, could we maybe talk in private?"

Helga glanced at her for permission. Rhonda laughed lightly, leaning back in her chair but she shook her head slightly. Anger tightened his jaw.

"You can speak freely in front of my friends." Helga smiled. He scowled momentarily but recovered, smoothing back his chocolate brown hair.

"Right. Well I just wanted to ask you to the winter formal since we had such a great time last week." He said smoothly. He then presented a single bright red rose.

"Oh, how sweet!" Lila crowed from across the table. Helga took it, holding it to her nose with a smile.

"I'll think about it." She said, her eyes darting over the petals with a sort of cheekiness about it. Ludwig nodded and sauntered off.

"How sweet is that?" Lila cooed.

"Oh shut up." Helga laughed, waving her off with the rose.

"He's a catch Helga." Rhonda looked at her from under her lashes.

"Yeah, maybe." She said, a small smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. Although Ludwig wasn't the brightest bulb in the room, he _had_ failed his freshman year, but he'd stepped up his game. He was a quarterback for the football team, tall and muscular, and a bit of a romantic, although a cheesy one at that. Helga going to the winter formal with him was like the cliché of all 80s high school movies.

But then Wolfgang was bearing down on them as well, his eyes glued to the hallway that Ludwig had just disappeared down.

"Helga! Can I speak to you for a moment?" He immediately pulled up his sweet boy act. Lila laughed but stifled it to listen in.

"In private?" Rhonda sneered. Helga shot her a look but gave Wolfgang her attention.

"Just spit it out." She said.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the winter formal with me. I feel like we really clicked the other week when we went out. I had a sweet time and I'd like to have more of them. What do you think?" And with that, he offered her a small sunflower.

"Oh!" She sighed, taking it and holding it to her nose.

"She'll think about it. Move along." Rhonda shooed him away. He smiled and lumbered on.

"Wow Helga, two dates in ten minutes? You're on a roll." Lila giggled.

Wolfgang wasn't a bad catch either. He'd failed his freshman year two with Ludwig, they were truly a bad influence on each other, but now he was the lead singer of a grundge band that kind of pulled Helga's old heartstrings. He was just as tall and muscular but still with the wild spiked hair of the P.S. 118 days but the new presence of hooped lip rings on each side of his mouth. The old Helga would have buckled for a boy like that, but she had to remember her own image and so Rhonda's image.

"You have got those two exactly where you want them." Rhonda smirked, taking a sip from her sparkling water.

"Oh yes. They would fight to the death at this point for my presence." She smiled.

"I wish I could get two hunky studs fighting over me." Lila sighed wistfully, plopping her chin down on her intertwined fingers.

"Well it's not like it's hard work playing two testosterone driven boys against each other." Rhonda chuckled.

"So you say." Lila pointed out. "I can't even get Arnold to think twice about going. I've dropped like a million hints about it."

Helga coughed violently on the salad she was eating.

"Excuse me?" Rhonda's voice dropped dangerously low.

"What?" Lila said innocently. "We've been hanging out for like, ever. I don't have a date, he doesn't have a date. I figured we could go together. As friends."

"As friends." Rhonda said, her voice a dead monotone.

"Yeah." Lila stared at the napkin in her hands, tearing it apart with her salmon colored fingertips.

"Lila." Rhonda said.

She continued to stare down.

"LILA." Rhonda barked. Her auburn head snapped up.

"I won't tell you this again. Stay away from Arnold." Rhonda's eyes darkened.

"Why should I? Helga doesn't want him. She's got Ludwig AND Wolfgang. How fair is that!" Lila snapped, coming over the side of her table to point threateningly at her.

"Lila!" Rhonda snarled. Lila fell back into her seat.

"This is not "up for discussion"." Rhonda said pointedly. "Stay away from him."

Helga's face was completely blank, neutral as she stared straight ahead not hearing them.

"Fine." Lila huffed, falling back against her seat, arms crossed.

"Great. Glad we could talk that out." Rhonda said hollowly.

Of course, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch.

"Let's get moving then." Rhonda said standing and swinging her purse over her shoulder. Helga stood too, her mouth set in a firm line. She was unusually silent then, following closely behind Rhonda. Lila took her time standing, allowing the other two girls to move a little away before slamming her chair under the table and picking up her purse.

"No one tells me what to do." She growled and followed after them.


	3. We Know The Truth

Wicked Games

Chapter Two: We Know The Truth

"How are my ladies feeling?" Rhonda burst into the dressing room grinning from ear to ear.

"This outfit is too much." Helga whined. A short Asian woman was bent at her waist as she stood on a pedestal inserting pins into her costume. She winced every time she did it. She was supposed to be a sexy mummy, wearing a handmade strapless dress of white, cream colored wraps. She already had the wraps for her arms and legs finished but her weight kept fluctuating and changing the hem of her dress.

"Maybe if you'd kept eating those salads I told you about." Rhonda wagged a playful finger at her.

"I do though!" She groaned. "Ow Kit!"

"Sorry." The seamstress said none too regretfully. Helga scowled at her.

"This is totally awesome." Lila grinned. A tiny pale girl was putting green makeup on her for practice. Lila was supposed to be Frankenstein's monster. Her lips had been painted a dark red and her eyelids boasted a deep dark purple to go with her almost lime green skin.

"Oh Amelia, that just looks fantastic. Very feminine, I love your style." Rhonda fawned over the makeup artist. She nodded tersely and focused on painting the black stitching around Lila's neck.

"It's a good thing you went legit with this video Rhonda. We're gonna look hot." Lila grinned as she tilted her head back.

"I better look hot if I'm this uncomfortable." Helga piped up.

"That's the cardinal rule of beauty. If you are suffering, you are beautiful." Rhonda smirked. Helga rolled her eyes.

"I'm done." Kit said tartly. "Now go take it off before I have to adjust it again. Go."

She popped Helga on the hip. She jumped down and hobbled awkwardly out of the room.

"Kit, Amelia. Would you give me a moment alone with Lila please?" Rhonda simpered quietly. Amelia and Kit began gathering up their things to leave. Lila looked around nervously as the door shut quietly behind them.

"Lila." Rhonda said softly, leaning on the girl's chair as she stared into the mirror at her.

"I wanted to talk to you while Helga was out of the room for a moment. I hope you don't mind."

She said it in a way where Lila could tell it didn't matter whether she minded or not.

"What did I tell you about hanging out with Arnold?"

The blood in Lila's veins shot through her, her temper instantly rocketing through the roof.

"You said it would be fine if we hung out." Her voice was rising already.

"I warned you." Rhonda snapped, losing her cool. "I warned you if you hung out with him, you'd start having feelings for him. He just is that way. But did you listen to me? No. You're not fooling anyone with your "just friends" bullshit and now Helga's upset." She growled. Lila watched her own face flush in anger. It looked strange under the green.

"She's gonna have to get over it. Arnold is gonna have a girlfriend at some point. You can't stop that." She snarled.

"Like hell I can't." Rhonda said in a low voice.

Lila fell silent. The weight of her words hung in the air, changing the tension in the room. The hair on her arms were standing up.

"This little game of yours is over. You are not to hang out with him anymore. It's done." Rhonda said simply.

"Rhonda-" Lila began to argue but the door opened.

"Thank the gods I'm out of that." Helga said loudly as she walked in. She paused seeing the heated looks on both of their faces.

"Did I miss something?" She asked. Rhonda turned around, clapping her hands together as she gave Helga a smile.

"No, nothing at all hun. We were just talking about the set I have waiting for us next week."

"Finally! When do we start shooting? I feel like we've been practicing the scenes forever now." Helga flopped down into an empty chair.

"The beginning of September. I'll send you guys the address and then we meet there."

"Can we go now." Lila said stiffly. Rhonda shot her a nasty look but hitched on a small smile quickly.

"I'll send Amelia in to clean you up, then you can go." Her voice dripped with stifled hostility. She grabbed Helga's hand and pulled her from the room.

"God knows she needs it." She whispered to the blonde and they giggled all the way out.

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Lila stalked down the sidewalk clutching her purse angrily in her hand. Her destination was only a short way away. She needed to calm herself but then the full of herself face of Rhonda would rear it's ugly head in her mind and she could barely choke back the anger that rose in her. Who did she think she was? The fucking queen bee? Rhonda was so not the boss of her, she could hang out with whomever she wanted and do whatever she wanted. (Realistically, whomever she wanted) She chuckled at that thought as the looming stoop of Arnold's boarding house came into view. She knocked twice and waited. The door opened to reveal Arnold.

"Hey there! Come in." He waved her in and she stepped over the threshold.

"Hey back." The corner of her lip curled up as she walked by him and into the darkened living room they normally watched their TV show marathons in. He followed her in, flipping on the TV as she sat on the couch.

"So how was the music video thing?" He asked plopping down next to her. She groaned.

"Horrible, as usual. It really should be fun but with Rhonda running around barking orders at you and cramming critiques down your throat, it gets pretty old pretty fast."

Arnold started season three of their current show. He leaned back, intertwining his fingers behind his head.

"Why do you keep doing it then? Why don't you just get out?"

"Get out? Get _out_?" Her mouth fell open as she stared at him in shock.

"Maybe you don't understand, Arnold. Ditching the trio is basically social suicide. If I left, they would destroy me. No one at school would ever talk to me again. I'd be an outcast."

She shivered at the thought. Yeah, she hated Rhonda's guts, but her fear of the girl's wrath overpowered that a hundred times. No boy would ever look at her again. She would never hear another girl's voice laugh with her. She wouldn't be able to join any social club at school that would look good on her college applications.

"Would that be worse than what you're going through now?" He asked gently. She looked over at him. His blue eyes looked genuinely concerned. It struck her in the heart every time. Her heart swooned.

"Yes." She said quietly. "Much worse."

He sighed softly and looked straight ahead. She stared at him though, the pale light from the TV shining over his face. Her eyes fell across his angular features in a familiar pattern, down from the eyes, sliding down the jut of his jaw, right smack to his cute little full lips. She leaned in, discretely scooting closer to him.

"See, if I did something as stupid as stupid as that, I wouldn't be able to go to the winter formal."

She was leaning in closer. Her breath would caress his cheek any moment now.

"I don't think anything should stop you." He said seriously.

"Nothing at all?" She said suggestively. He turned his face as her breath touched him and she bumped her lips against his. She felt his body jolt in surprise so she threw her hand up around the back of his neck and melded her lips with his. They were soft, softer than most boys with cracked lips. She figured he must use chaptstick regularly. His lips moved questioningly, paused, moved, and finally he stopped, pulling away from her.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused." He said.

"What? What's confusing?" She groaned.

"Is this you saying you like me?" He asked, completely baffled.

"Uh, duh?" She laughed lightly, reaching out to run her hand down his arm. He pulled away though, ever so slightly and she let her hand fall to the cushion.

"I'm sorry, I think I need some space. To think." He clarified, standing quickly and beginning to pace, running his hand feverishly through his hair.

"Are you asking me to leave?" She asked, completely gobsmacked.

"I think so. Am I? Yes. I don't know. Can I just be alone?" He said quickly. She stood, snatching up her purse and stomping towards the door.

"Don't be angry, okay?" He shouted after her as she pounded down the sidewalk. She threw up her middle finger and kept on going. Fuck'im. She didn't need him.

HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA~HA

She was wrong. She was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Lila sat in Rhonda's room at the desk watching Rhonda on her bed sitting behind Helga as she teased the blonde girl's hair. They were laughing about something but she wasn't listening. She was drumming her fingers on the desk. She pulled her cell phone out for the umpteenth time to see if she had any new messages. Nope, none. Usually whenever she stormed out a guy's house like that, it resulted in some response from the guy. Usually there was a lot of calling, voice messages, and texts. Not with Arnold though. She had been met with dead radio silence.

"Lila." Rhonda's voice snapped in her ear. She jumped, looking up at her.

"How are those invitations coming along?" Rhonda snarked, crossing her arms as she looked down at her. Helga was still on the bed, a blank look in her eyes as she stared slightly to the left of them.

"I-" Lila cleared her throat. "I found a few artsy ones on Etsy but a lot of them involve us printing them ourselves. I didn't think you'd like that."

Rhonda stared at her a moment longer than she needed to but nodded her head.

"Then you'd be right on that. Perhaps I'll call my event planner and have her look, since you seem so distracted." She said stiffly and walked back over to the bed,

"I'm not distracted." Lila said quietly. She tapped the screen but it was still blank.

"Right, of course." Rhonda said waspishly. She grabbed Helga's hair again, jerking it perhaps a little roughly as she twisted it into a French braid. Lila sighed and went back to drumming her fingers on the desk.

"Anyways, I've got the shoot ready and booked for next week."

"Oh really?" Helga piped up finally, glee in her eyes.

"Yup, finally." Rhonda giggled, releasing her hair. She stood and strode over to her side table. She rummaged in her side table and pulled out two business cards.

"Here you go!" She handed one to each of them. Lila looked hers over. It had a little Frankenstein monster, Dracula, and mummy head over the top. It read an address and time in inky black lettering.

"Oh I'm so excited! I can't wait for everyone to see it." Helga said enthusiastically as she held the card out with glee.

"Yeah." Lila said stiffly. She flipped the card between her fingertips and glanced at her phone.

Still nothing.


	4. Face To Face

Wicked Games

Chapter Three: Face To Face

It was Friday night and Lila was sitting on the couch in her living room, listening to her father flutter around the kitchen in a rush to make a dinner before he had to scuttle off to his second job. She sighed softly, flipping through the channels on the TV. It didn't take long for her to come full circle. They didn't exactly have a lot of channels.

"Almost done honey!" He called to her. He plopped some plates on the counter, they rang out as they warbled around from the force of his rushing, and he spun around to the pan on the stove. He threw some buns down on the plates, tossed some seasoned fries on the side, and spun around with the pan to scoop some sloppy joe meat onto the buns.

"Done!" He announced happily, coming around the corner to plop her plate down on the coffee table with a bottle of Coke. She stared at it and looked up at him.

"Dad, I can't eat this. I'm on a diet." She said stiffly.

"You are? I don't remember that." He said scratching his head with his oven mitt covered hand.

"I've told you a thousand times!" She said exasperated. He frowned, hurt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry honey. I must have forgotten. I really gotta go though, there's some cold cuts in the fridge if you want something different."

He leaned down and popped a kiss on her cheek.

"I'll see you in the morning. Good night!"

He raced out the door and she huffed as it shut loudly behind him. She grabbed a fry and nibbled on it. She _was_ on a diet but one meal couldn't hurt. She piled her fries on the sloppy joe and scarfed it down. Her phone went off loudly and she jumped, feeling guilty. She picked it up and the bold letters of Arnold's name jumped out at her.

"What!" She cried happily and leaned back to read the message from him.

**Can we talk?**, it read. She smiled. Finally! All that stubborn silent treatment from her had paid off. She smirked as she replied.

**Sure? When?**

** How about now? Wanna come over?**

** Of course! Be there soon.**

She grabbed up her purse and flew off the couch. Finally, now she and Arnold could move forward. It had been more than a week since she'd seen him last and she missed him terribly. She needed to hear his voice, receive his compliments, and actually _feel_ someone care. She sighed dreamily as she reached into her purse for her key. Her hand brushed against the business card there and the video shoot came back to mind. She cursed. Checking the time on her phone, she figured she had some time before the shoot to see Arnold. Maybe she'd actually be in a good mood this time if Arnold gave in to her temptations.

She locked the door behind her and skipped down the road. The bus ride to his block seemed to take longer than normal. There seemed to be a person at every single stop the entire way there. She groaned, sinking down into her seat every time it stopped for an old grandma who took her sweet time shaking her cane to her seat. Finally though it was her stop and she jumped off. As she walked up to his boarding house, she paused at the stoop and smoothed her dress down. She was infinitely glad that Arnold had texted her the night of the shoot. She looked like a million bucks. She was wearing her prized emerald green dress with the classy sweetheart cut, spaghetti straps, and a poofed bottom. Her red locks were curled, cascading down her shoulders. There was no way he could resist her tonight.

She knocked on the door lightly, pulling back to frame herself perfectly in the doorway. She fixed a small shy smile on her lips as the door opened.

"Hey." Arnold said awkwardly throwing a hand up to rub his neck nervously. He moved aside so she could walk in and she stood in the entryway.

"So." She said, looking down at her feet.

"So." He said back, shuffling his feet.

"You wanted to talk?" She said hopefully, looking imploringly into his face.

"Yeah." He said, his hand still on his neck.

"I just-I don't want things to be awkward between us, Lila. I really enjoy your company. I don't want us to stop hanging out."

"So let's not stop?" She said trying to look into his eyes. He kept ducking his face from her. He sighed.

"I just, I have a feeling that you want.._more_ than that. And I don't know if I can give that right now. Do you understand?"

She could feel the pout forming on her lips before she could stop it.

"You don't like me?" Her voice cracked.

"Of course I like you." He said exasperated, rushing forward to grab her hands.

"I just don't know if I can be what you want, Lila."

She sighed softly, slipping her hands from his grasp.

"I've got to go. We start shooting Rhonda's music video soon. I don't want to be late." She said quietly, trying to keep the tears from her voice.

"I didn't know." He looked guilty for making her sad. "I hope you have fun."

"Yeah, me too." She said and squeezed past him. She let herself out and half ran to the bus stop. She leaned heavily against the post, tilting her head back to stare up at the stars overhead.

From one wolf den to the next.

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A tightness swelled in his throat. He'd never felt so bad in his whole life. Lila had always been a good friend to him. Yeah, she had changed a lot since joining up with Rhonda and Helga but he had noticed that whenever she came over and they hung out, watching goofy shows, the shiny veneer fell away and the real Lila would shine, if only for a little while. That's why he had enjoyed their time together so much. But now all of it was in jeopardy, all because she had finally grown feelings for him at the most inconvenient time, of course.

Why couldn't she have fallen for him so long ago? Things were different now. He sighed, watching her go as she hustled down the street to the bus stop. She paused there, leaning against the street sign and gazing upwards. The urge to follow and talk to her was strong but he didn't want to ruin her mood even more before her music video.

Curiosity got the better of him though. She was jumping onto the bus and it was pulling away from the curb. Frowning, he took one leap off the stoop and landed on the sidewalk. He pivoted around the stoop and grabbed his bike. He took off after it. At first, he didn't really believe he would be able to follow Lila all the way to her shoot but it actually seemed that the bus was going to stop at every corner on the way there.

He thanked a God he didn't believe in and paused to pant every time it stopped. He was suddenly very grateful for his wrestling coach's unreasonable demands or he would have been out ages ago. But finally Lila was the one to get off at a stop in a particularly shady part of town. They were in the warf area, dead to anyone around. It smelled like a salty rotted fish market. He ducked behind a building so she wouldn't see him and waited, trying to regain his breath in the meantime.

He poked his head out and caught sight of her bright red head bobbing along the sidewalk. He yanked his bike out and pulled it along beside himself instead of riding it. He tried to keep far behind her so as to not alert her to his presence but the ticking of his bike's tires were like little gunshots and Lila's head spun around. He threw himself quickly behind another building and froze there. He couldn't let her know. He stayed there for a few minutes, hell bent on letting her not see him. He peeked out again but she was definitely gone. He shot out from behind the building. He stared around but she was gone and he was lost downtown with the stink of salt on his flesh.

"Damnit." He said and began his search for her.

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Helga sat alone in her room at her small vanity desk. She was staring at her reflection. Her hair had gotten so long, she didn't remember when that had happened. She didn't remember much of anything anymore. It was deathly silent in her room, in her entire house, and it echoed in her mind. There wasn't a single soul home and for that, she could not have been more thankful. She would be allowed to complete her beauty rituals in silence.

The last swath of straightened hair fell through her fingertips to join the rest. Separating her bangs, she styled them to swoop to the side and finished with a bit of hairspray. Satisfied with her hair, she leaned over and pulled a tiered gold necklace from her jewelry box and clasped it behind her neck. Feeling good about the flash it brought to her plain white tank top, she stood and inspected her navy blue skinny jeans for fuzz. Then she slipped on some metallic gold heels and made her way downstairs.

It was dark. She walked into the kitchen and jumped. The blender was sitting out of place on the island and she had mistaken it for a person.

"Oh my!" She cried, laughing nervously. She moved forward, putting her arms on the countertop and resting her chin on them.

"Why yes mother, I am going out! How good of you to ask!" She exclaimed, speaking to the blender.

"No mother, there won't be any boys or alcohol there, though we both know I could be lying I suppose!" She tittered around the kitchen, throwing open the fridge door to peer inside.

"Oh yes mother, I will be sure to call when I get there and let you know I'm safe and sound! No worries. Promise." She said slamming it shut.

"Father? Oh yes, let me inform him I'm leaving. Oh father!" She cried dramatically, flouncing into the darkened living room. Her father's chair sat ominously in the middle of the room, a black boulder in space.

"Oh father! I thought you aught to know but I'm leaving for the night and I won't be back until very late tomorrow! I do hope that's okay with you?"

The chair was silent.

"What's that you say?" She leaned forward, cupping her ear.

"You want to give me money to go out? Well that's just too kind! Well if you insist." She strutted to his prized trophy, tipped back the lid, and pulled out a wad of cash.

"Why thank you father, you are too sweet to me. What ever would I do without you?"

She walked back into the entryway and glanced up at the stairs.

"Olga! I didn't even hear you come in! Are you here to send me off too?"

The many framed photographs of Olga through the ages hanging on the stairwell were silent, froze in whimsical poses.

"Oh no! Thank you sweet sister but I don't need any dating advice tonight! I'm going out with the girls, so I shant need it this time! But truly," Helga bowed low, pretending to hold out a dress' skirt.

"I appreciate your concern." She said smiling broadly. She stood there momentarily, her smile fading slowly. She straightened up and grabbed her purse from the side table.

"Au revoir Pataki family! Although your concern is overwhelming, I really must go!" She called loudly, opening the door and turning to wave at no one. Then she strode out into the darkness and jumped on the next bus.

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Arnold was sitting on the curb alone. His search for Lila had yielded nothing. Annoyed, he turned up his wrist to catch sight of the time on his watch. Deciding he was going to give up, he stood and threw a leg over his bike. Just at that moment though, he caught sight of a thin girl with straight blonde hair cascading down her back. He instantly recognized the long legs and square shoulders. It was Helga, also heading to the video shoot he assumed. Thanking no one in particular for his returning luck, he went to take off after her but she stopped in front of a warehouse, pausing outside but finally stepping up to the door. He hid beside a stoop and watched her enter the building. He waited for about fifteen minutes for her to reach the other two girls. He didn't want them to realize he was spying on them. Finally, he stood and crossed the street to the warehouse. He dipped inside the big door and hid his bike off to the side. It was pitch black except for a small light in the distance. He made his way towards it.

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The neighborhood that Rhonda had chosen for their music video shoot was not cute. If anything, it seemed particularly out of character. The bus wouldn't even drop Helga off too close to the address. She realized she was going to have to walk at least a block in the dark to get there. Perhaps if there were any people around, she would have felt more nervous, but it was completely dead. There wasn't a single stray dog or lone cat or drunk and sleeping homeless guy. She was suddenly glad she hadn't brought a purse. She walked forward insistently though, her back straight and a dark, angry look on her face to ward off any potential aggressors.

She was checking out the location around her. There were nothing but warehouses up and down the street. The stark smell of the ocean hung in the air, stinging her nostrils and aggravating her throat. It wasn't that pleasant beachy smell. It was that dirty, oily, fishy salt smell. Again, she was surprised by Rhonda's choice in location but the thought fell from her mind as the warehouse with the numbers she was looking for loomed into view. It's rusty red bricks hung in the air before her. She looked around. There was no one outside to greet her. She walked up awkwardly and knocked on the wide metal door. It gave way and swung open. She peered into its inky depths.

"Hello?" She called into it, her voice echoing. No one answered. Confused, she walked in and shut the door behind her. It banged loudly and she was shut in the darkness.

"Oh Rhonda!" She sang nervously. "Where are you?"

She walked forward for a lack of something to do, her arms held outstretched so she wouldn't bump into anything. Her low heels clacked loudly in the darkness, the only sound in the place. Her eyes were getting used to the dark, noting the long hallway before her and heading down it.

"Rhonda! Lila! Where are you my darling harpies?" Helga called out. She laughed as she stumbled through the hallway on the loose gravel. She had to say, Rhonda really knew how to decorate. She definitely felt a subtle chill in the air. She was starting to get impatient though that no one was answering. The dark was kind of suffocating.

"Rhonda! Lila! Where are you bitches!" She yelled. A light cut on sharply further down the hall. She walked towards the empty doorway. A soft yellow light shown through it. She paused in the doorway, cupping a hand over her eyes to peer in. The sudden light had made her blind.

"Hello?" She said again. She could see something, a heap on the floor in the middle of the bare dusty room. She walked forward, walking into the wide spotlight spilling onto the heap.

"What the...?" Her voice trickled off. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. It was a person lying awkwardly on their side.

"Lila" She breathed. The mess of red curly hair tilted up, her usually bright hair dull with dust and dirt. The duct tape over her mouth flashed in the spotlight.

"Mmmph? Mmph!" She mumbled forcefully. Tears of dirt and mascara ran down her cheeks.

"Lila!" She reached for the girl but froze with her hands out.

"Wait a second." She looked around into the dark and smirked shakily.

"Is this a trick? Are ya'll punking me? Rhonda!"

Lila could still be heard making squeaking pleading sounds.

"Rhonda, get out here!"

She heard a sound. A click clicking. She saw a curvy shadow above them, heels clicking on the wooden floors. She could make out a wrap around balcony above them, a perfect platform from which to observe.

"Rhonda, you almost got me!" She pointed up at her as she descended the steps before them.

"You had me going girl. Scared the shit out of me. Get her up."

"Helga darling." Rhonda's voice drifted towards her from the dark. "What ever are you talking about?"

Helga gestured down at Lila's body tied up on the floor.

"Your little trick here. You got me! I thought this was for real!" She laughed forcefully. "But really, get her up."

"No." She said somberly, pausing at the edge of the spotlight.

"What?" Helga froze. No. No no no.

"I said..._no_." The stillness of Rhonda's posture frightened her. Helga could feel the spinning of the world stopping. She almost lurched forward with the force of it. Somehow she had been shifted to an alternate universe and somehow she just knew, nothing was going to be the same ever again.


	5. Enjoy The Silence

Wicked Games

Chapter Four: Enjoy The Silence

10:36pm

"Rhonda." Hank's deep voice reverberated in the dark room.

"What?" She asked. He didn't answer. He pulled back the curtain in response and some pale moonlight trickled in. She stepped forward and peered out the window. A bobbing head of auburn bounced below them on the sidewalk. It disappeared and the faint sound of a heavy door opening echoed somewhere. She glanced at Hank's solemn face. He was staring silently at the floor.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" She hissed. He jumped and lumbered away. Her fingertips flew to the strap on her upper thigh, caressing the handle there.

"It's time to greet our guest." She said lowly and left the room as well.

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The warehouse door was old and heavy and quite creaky. Lila stared into the ongoing darkness. It was definitely a creepy setting. She kind of wished Rhonda wasn't so good at this sort of thing, but she was so she was just going to have to get with it. She crept forward, moving into the building's depths. Even though her eyes were getting used to the dark, it was still hard to get around. The silence was starting to get to her too.

"Hello? Rhonda?" She cried out. "I need some help. Where are you?"

She waited for a moment but no one answered. She frowned. She was starting to get a little annoyed. It wouldn't be below Rhonda to play a practical joke on her now. And quite frankly, after the whole Arnold scolding fiasco, her patience had worn a little thin with the raven-haired girl.

"Alright Rhonda!" She shouted. "I've about had enough! I'm leaving!"

She turned to do so but realized she didn't remember the way she'd come in. The grey forms and black doorways like gaping maws were ominous before her.

"Damnit." She whispered. Feeling her way around, she continued forward.

That's when she started to feel it though, the eyes on the back of her neck. She knew she was just being paranoid but she couldn't help casting glances behind her. No one was there. Just darkness. She knew in her mind that it was probably just Rhonda or Helga trying to scare her but the longer she walked, the less sure that feeling was. It was just _watching_. Waiting. The longer she waited, the more her anticipation heightened.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Her voice trilled nervously in the darkness. She put out a hand on a doorway and looked out into a long hallway. She paused. The hairs on her arms were raised. She didn't _feel_ alone…

A bright light cut on suddenly behind her. She spun around to face the hulking mass of shadow looming over her. A scream pealed from her throat, deep from the place where they never end, but the figure backhanded her right across the face and that shut her up real quick. The force of it was incredibly blinding, stars popped across one eyes as her lip split open and she flew into the ground. She immediately began to crawl away, trying to pull herself up in the process. Mid-stand, a foot came down on the small of her back and sent her tumbling forward. She cried out, her face was gashed now. There was definitely blood all over her face, warm and sticky and tacky.

"Help!" She cried, reaching out into the void. No one was there though, now that it was convenient, and the figure behind her grabbed the back of her dress and jerked her up. She squeaked, flailing and kicking as he pulled her up. Naturally she was no match for him. His hands closed over her forearms. She couldn't breath, the fear crowding out her thoughts was also constricting her lungs. She was becoming faint, she could feel that. In her mind, her effort to escape would have been great. A fight one imagines putting up when thinking about these scenarios. Perhaps an elbow to the nose, a finger in the eye, a nice stomp on his foot. Unfortunately all these lessons flew right out the window as he shook her violently. This was just her being dominated by a man much bigger and stronger than her.

She squirmed, trying to pull away but he jerked her against his chest and threw her backwards. She fell hard against the floor, her head bouncing painfully. Her vision blacked out for a moment but then she was staring up at him. He was outrageously tall and not at all what she would imagine a raping murderer to look like. He was almost handsome with a round boyish face and a scruffy facial hair. His eyes stared down at her though with a sad sort of miserable stare. There wasn't an inch of hate or violence there. It was odd how…_innocent_ he appeared.

"What do you want?" She whispered. He stared down at her still not responding. He sighed softly instead, so wearily that the sound hurt her heart. His eyes rolled to the side and she looked too. There were some stairs to the side of them and a little beyond the light was the slender frame of a girl.

"Rhonda?"

"Lila." She said darkly and walked towards them. Her heart dropped. There was nothing joking or playful about the way Rhonda was looking at her with slits for eyes.

"What's going on?" She huffed out in a shuddering breath. It was easier to act tough with Rhonda.

"Where were you before you came here?" Rhonda asked quietly, her tone dangerous. Lila's stomach lurched. She knew the answer, she was just asking to see if she would lie about it.

"What does it matter now? Call off your watchdog." She snapped. The man above her didn't respond or react to her reference to him. It was creepy.

"It matters." She said. Lila bit her lip.

"What do you want me to say?" She asked exasperated. This all seemed a little bit unnecessary for some flirting.

"Anything. The truth."

She fell silent, glancing over the boy in front of her. Sweat was beading on her brow.

"I was at Arnold's." She sighed finally.

"That's what I thought." Rhonda turned away then, linking her hands behind her back.

"Round her up then, Hank." She said vaguely.

"Excuse me?" Lila demanded. Hank sprung to life though, lunging forward and grabbing her by the arms.

"Get off of me!" She screamed, fighting viciously this time now that her head was a little more clear.

"Tie her up. Keep her quiet. Helga mustn't hear when she comes." Rhonda said non-challantly.

"What do you think you're doing?" She screeched but Hank had spun her around and forced her wrists together behind her back. He roped them together tightly. He pushed her forward onto the ground. She blushed as her dress flew up, surely revealing her underwear. For a moment, the worst came to mind but Hank grabbed her ankles and tied them together too. He grabbed the hem of her dress suddenly and yanked it down to cover her. She rolled onto her side to look up at them.

"What are you going to do to me?" She whimpered.

Rhonda turned her head slightly.

"Punish you." She said.

She looked away again.

"I want her in the middle of the spotlight now, please Hank. That would be the most dramatic." She said.

He leaned over to pick her up.

"Wait!" She cried. "You don't have to do this! I can tell you're kind in heart. I don't know what she's got on you, but you don't have to do this!"

He paused, hovering over her. His eyes searched her face.

"Hank!" Rhonda snapped. He winced but looked at her.

"Can you handle this or do I have to get someone who will?"

He glanced back at Lila but shook his head very slowly.

"Well alright then. Over. HERE."

She pointed.

"No, please." She moaned.

"And shut her up."

She tried to squirm away but he grabbed her and slapped some duct tape over her lips.

"There. There's fine."

He dragged and dropped her in the middle of the blinding spotlight. She tried to squirm away but Rhonda gripped her by the shoulder tightly.

"Lila." She said shortly, her stare piercing into Lila's eyes.

"Now, do you see Hank over there?" She pointed at him standing nervously by the wall.

Lila didn't answer. She didn't need to.

"Now Hank is a gentle soul. He doesn't very much _want_ to hurt you. But I have something he wants very badly. Now, do you know that feeling? Wanting something so _badly_, you'd do _anything_ to have it?"

Again, she said nothing but she stopped squirming.

"Good girl. That's what I thought. Now cut off that light, Hank. Helga will be here soon enough."

She stared at Hank with pleading eyes but his head was down as he shuffled towards the light switch. She let her head fall backwards as the light shown down on her.

The light went out.

And she was alone.


	6. Fear Will Always Make You Blind

Wicked Games

Chapter Five: Fear Will Always Make You Blind

"I-I don't understand." She whispered.

"I'm not untying her, Helga. And this isn't a trick. Well, not for you at least. For her maybe."

She prodded her toe into Lila's back.

"But not you."

"I don't understand." She said lowly. She dropped to her knees, putting her hands gently around the other girls face. She couldn't look away from Lila's terrified watery eyes looking back at her. Something in her was sinking, sinking through the floor to a place it couldn't come back from.

"But you do, don't you? I can see that in the glassiness of your eyes." Rhonda seemed to be in a different state. She was standing over the two of them, her hands clasped behind her back. The bright light cast shadows over her eyes.

"Helga, you are my best friend in the world. I would do anything for you." She dropped down into a crouched position, her face close to Helga's. She jumped. Rhonda's eyes were flat, dead, her eyebrows pulled together in extreme concentration.

"Do you understand that?" She asked quietly. Helga couldn't stop her eyes from automatically glancing at Lila, her terrified form on the floor. Could she overpower Rhonda and take control of the situation? Something told her Rhonda had an ace or two up her sleeve though. She was just a little too confident. Rhonda waited patiently for her to answer.

"Well?" She asked raising an eyebrow. The only way she could figure out how to save them was to keep Rhonda calm. She breathed.

"I understand." She said in a small voice.

"Excellent!" Rhonda stood, clapping her hands together.

"Then you understand what has to be done." With that, her face became very grave as she pulled a long, thin knife from her side and inspected it.

"Just a pinch, then sweet." She mused, touching the tip of it with her finger. Helga's heart stopped. Lila tried to look around but Helga stopped her.

"What exactly are you going to do?" She asked in a hushed tone. The silence was suddenly deafening, crushing in on them so every whisper was a shout. As Helga had walked to the warehouse, she had noticed the area was dead. It was deserted. There was no one nearby. They were completely alone. Isolated. Rhonda gave her a curious look.

"I'm not doing anything at the moment."

Helga stared at her. "What are you **going** to do?"

Rhonda sighed contently, letting her eyes fall to Lila.

"I'm giving you a gift." She said lightly. Lila stopped moving, her eyes wide with fear.

"Rhonda…" Helga began slowly, her eyes glued to the knife.

"Lila has betrayed us and hurt you. She flagrantly disobeyed my commands and has gone astray. She must be punished!" She finished severely. Lila shut her eyes as realization dawned on her face.

"But.."

"And it must be by your hand."

Helga stared at her in horror.

"Wh-what?" She stammered. Lila was trembling under her fingertips now.

"Her betrayal is with you, Helga. However, you are my right hand, so I couldn't let this pass. To clear this act though, you must be the one to wash it away."

She stared, completely dumbfounded. The knife caught the light.

"I-"

"Yes Helga?" She asked eagerly. Helga looked down at Lila, her eyes shut tight, trembling. Maybe if she played along, she could get the knife from Rhonda, subdue her, and free Lila.

"If that's what I have to do, then so be it." She said thickly, hanging her head as she put her hand forward. Rhonda made a sound of glee. Lila's eyes shot open in fright but she winked at her, certain her curtain of hair would hide this from Rhonda's view.

"So it shall be."

She placed the knife gently in the palm of Helga's hand.

"LILA!" A voice shouted from above them. Helga jumped, startled. The knife clattered to the floor.

"Who-?" Rhonda peered up at the balcony. Helga turned and caught sight of golden hair. Her heart stopped. Not him. Anyone but him. She squashed down a cry of fear. She couldn't have mistaken that hair anywhere.

"Arnold?" Rhonda asked curiously. He ran down the steps two at a time, landing hard at the bottom.

"What the fuck are you doing to her!" He shouted running at them.

"Stop being so dramatic Arnold. We're making a video." Rhonda crossed her arms as he fell to the ground beside Lila.

"What?" He glared up at her.

"HANK!" She shrieked suddenly. Helga turned and watched a large wall of a man walk into the room. He was unrealistically tall, with broad shoulders and thick arms.

"Will you please handle Arnold for me dearie? He's a little too emotional for this scene." She said nonchalantly waving a hand towards the couple on the floor.

"Arnold!" Helga gasped. She reached out to him as Hank yanked him up roughly from the floor. She could feel the shredding of her heart into hysterics. Her love, he was in danger. Stupidly, bolding attempting to be heroic and now she'd have to save him too. He'd never been good at staying quiting and assessing the situation. He always had to _act_.

"Get your hands off me! Get off me NOW!" He shouted fighting hard against Hank's hold on him. The man was unfazed, crushing the lanky Arnold against his chest. He jerked his arms back into a painful looking hold and Arnold yelped in pain.

"Please!" She gasped, looking at Rhonda beseechingly. "Please don't hurt him!"

Rhonda gazed at her for a moment and raised her hand. Hank hung his head but his hold visibly loosened.

"As you wish. Although he aught to be, Arnold is not the one on trial here. Lila is."

She bent down, retrieving the knife and stared at Helga.

"Now, before we were so rudely interrupted. The only way to wash away the stink of betrayal is to bathe in the blood of the sinner. Are you ready to be cleansed Helga?"

She held out the knife balanced on the palms of her hands. Helga paused, afraid to take it now that Arnold was a few feet away.

"Are you serious? You're in on this?" Arnold demanded enraged. She was taken aback by his out of character fury, his flushed cheeks, his piercing gaze.

"Arnold, you have to stop." She said quietly. She wished to God if he could ever trust her, that now would be the time. Rhonda's eyes darted between them suspiciously. She knew what she had to do but her urge to stop the distrusting hateful glare he was giving her was overpowering her rational thoughts. Her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces.

"I knew you were always jealous of her but to do this, participate in this is beyond contempt!"

"Arnold-"

"I HATE YOU!" He roared.

"SHUT UP!" She screamed back at him. "You fucking IDIOT! I'm trying to save her!"

She barely registered the shock on Rhonda's face. She snatched up the knife and threw herself at the witch. They fell to the ground. Rhonda was spewing swear words, clawing at her face, and grabbing her hair. Tears welled in her eyes. She tried to focus on getting Rhonda on the ground as they wrestled.

"You bitch!" She swore as Helga smashed the side of her face down onto the cold paved floor.

"Shut up!" She snapped. She grabbed the back of the other girl's raven black hair and jerked her head back at an awkward angle. Of course her arms shot up to immediately fight back but the cold metal of the knife at her throat made her freeze.

"Stop!" She commanded, meaning Rhonda. However, at the sight of the knife at Rhonda's neck, Hank threw Arnold aside roughly and rushed towards her. She yelped in fear, pushing Rhonda aside to brandish the knife freely. She backed away as he came at her but Arnold was behind him in no time and shoved him forwards. The momentum made him fly past her into the wall with a huge crash. He slumped over on the floor.

"Get Lila!" Arnold ordered. They rushed to her bondaged form. He grabbed her under her armpits and dragged her towards the doorway.

"Not on your fucking life!" Rhonda screamed. She flew up behind Helga and tangled her thin fingers in her hair again. Helga screamed, reaching automatically to free herself. She had forgotten about the knife in her hand though. Rhonda howled in pain, reeling back as blood drenched her arm.

"Hank!" Rhonda screamed. He rose, stumbling slightly, shook his head, but ran towards them again.

"Arnold!" She cried pointing. His face flushed. He ripped the knife from her hand and threw it at him. Hank tripped trying to avoid it, slamming hard onto the ground a foot from Lila's feet. He was stunned, shook his head, reached, and grabbed her ankle. Lila's scream was muffled by the tape.

"Noo!" Arnold shouted. He heaved her top part, tears trickled down her face. Hank pulled harder. She could see the determined, unstoppable hold he had on her ankle, the terrified pained look on Lila's face, Arnold's obvious fear and pain. They would not make it out of the room with her. She realized painfully they would have to leave her behind to save her. Her chest seized up.

"Stop!" She pulled Arnold by the arms, trying to wrench him away. Hank was dragging them further back into the room, into the wolf's den. Panic fluttered in her lungs. If they went back in there, Lila would surely die.

"You have to let go!" She cried, the tears free down her face now. One more foot.

"I can't!" Arnold pleaded.

"We have to!" He looked at her, tears in his own eyes.

"You have to trust me." She pleaded. He stared at her uncertainly. Hank yanked hard again.

"Noo!" Arnold cried as she slipped from his grasp. Helga jerked him back away from the door and shoved him down the dark hallway. They ran as fast as they could in the darkness.

"HELGA!" Rhonda's voice boomed through the hall. She dragged Arnold to a stop, they backed up against a wall.

"You can't escape from this! We are past the point of no return! She will be punished tonight! It's up to you if it will be by a kind hand or a cruel one."

She could feel Arnold groan as he choked back a sob.

"She's bluffing." She whispered. "She wants me to do it. She won't have it any other way. We can save her."

A piercing scream tore through the silence.

"Lila!" Arnold yelled. He ran past her back towards the yellow light. She didn't think, she just tackled him from behind, wrapping her arms around his chest and kneeing him roughly in the back of the legs. He collapsed under her weight.

"Lila! I'm sorry! Do you hear me? I'm SORRY!" He cried. He struggled beneath her, attempting to go to her. Helga froze. She could hear thudding footsteps. She looked up and could make out the large form of Hank running towards them and Rhonda's feminine silhouette in the doorway.

"God DAMNIT Arnold!" She jerked him up by the scruff of his shirt and shoved him in the opposite direction.

"I'm sorry." He whimpered, running now.

"Shut up and move!"

They ran fast towards what they didn't know. They had a distinct advantage over the lumbering Hank. Although it was dark, their eyes were getting used to it. Helga grabbed his arm and pointed. They ran through a doorway into a large storage room. It was huge with a low ceiling. Chains hung down over them, swinging back and forth ominously.

"Oh God." She breathed. The room was designed like the room from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

"We have to hide." Arnold whispered. She nodded quickly. Hank stumbled in. They spun around to stare in horror.

"Come on!" He whispered jerking her forward. They ran over to the far wall where an air conditioning vent was sticking out. Arnold looked back at Hank investigating the room. Realizing he couldn't do this quietly, he kicked the vent hard and it's door broke off loudly. Hank's head spun around to their direction. He climbed in and motioned for her to follow. Helga was scared of small spaces but one last glance at Hank barreling towards them spurred her on. She climbed in behind him, feeling better realizing Hank would not fit in the space after them until something clamped down on her ankle. She screamed.

"Arnold!" She cried in panic. She was being pulled backwards.

"Helga!" He yelled. He grabbed her arms and pulled. Hank was stronger though. She was being dragged from the hole.

"No!" She cried hysterically. She kicked frantically, feeling herself hit something squishy. Hank groaned and released her. Arnold yanked her out of his reach. They sat there for a moment, panting heavily, Helga sitting between his legs in the small space as Hank's arms swung around eagerly at the opening.

"Let's move." Arnold whispered by her ear. She didn't, staring transfixed at the danger hunting them.

"Helga." He said softly, touching her arm. She snapped out of it, turning to look at him. He let out a breath heavily and turned to crawl down the vent. She followed behind him.

Helga didn't know how long they were like that before the vent got wide enough for them to get up and walk. He helped her stand. Her legs felt wobbly. Although she wanted to blame it on the crawling, she had a feeling it was much more than that. They walked in silence. What could they say?

"How did this happen?" He sighed suddenly. He pushed his hands into his pockets angrily, his shoulders slumped.

"I don't know." She said quietly, staring down.

"How could she do something like this?"

She shook her head and looked away. Silence fell again.

"Did you…did you ask her to do this?" He asked.

"No!" She hissed angrily. "I'm just as much a victim here!"

"I'm sorry." He said quickly.

"And frankly, it hurts like hell that you would think so little of me." She bit back, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Helga, okay. I'm sorry." They stopped and he put his hands on her shoulders. "I just, I didn't even think Rhonda was capable of this. My world's been turned on its head. I don't know what to think anymore. Does that make sense?"

His eyes bore into hers, pleading. She looked away awkwardly. He slipped his finger under her chin and forced her to look back.

"Helga?"

"Yeah, I get that." She said softly.

"I am sorry though. Really." He swiped a hand over her cheek, tucking a hair behind her ear. He let his arms drop and she missed the contact immediately. She cleared her throat.

"What now?" She asked quickly. They started walking again.

"Well, we have to get out of here and save Lila. So I guess we keep walking until that happens."

The vent was getting much darker though. She tried to focus on walking but her shoes and the darkness and the unevenness of the vent were out to get her. She stumbled twice before she actually fell, sprawled on her stomach.

"Helga, are you okay?" Arnold asked. He tripped over her legs though and fell on top of her, squashing the air from her lungs.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry! Are you okay?" He asked again. She couldn't help it. It was almost instinctual, how she rolled over and his face was hanging down over hers. He pushed himself up on his hands to stand up but she reached up into the dark, seizing his face, and forced his lips down on hers. Of course he struggled, now was not the time nor the place, but she had to. It was funny how easily they fell right back into it, the way their tongues danced together, hands retracing old paths, all grown up this time.

They broke apart panting, staring at the other with new light, surprised. Arnold opened his mouth to say something but she interrupted him.

"I don't want to die." She whimpered.

"We're not going to die." He said fiercely. "Not here. Not now."

"I'm scared." She whispered.

"Me too." He said softly. He leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. He moved to stand but stopped. She felt him reach over her head and wave his arm around.

"The floor ends." He said quietly.

"Really?" She pushed herself up on her elbows and reached past her upper body. He was right. About half a foot away from where she had landed, the floor ended ubruptly.

"Wow, we were lucky." She said softly.

"Yeah, lucky." He said grimly. He stood and pulled her up. They stood for a moment over the hole before them. It was like one obstacle after the other.

"Do you have anything on you? Something small?"

She dug around in her pockets but found nothing.

"How about an earring?" She reached up immediately to pull off the pearl stud. She dropped it into his palm.

"That'll do." He said. He put his hand over the opening and dropped the earring. She heard a _plink!_ a few seconds after.

"Okay, so that's not too deep. If you could hold onto me, I could shimmy down and you could just jump down into my arms."

"That doesn't sound too safe.." She said.

"Do you have any other ideas?" He asked. She stared down into the abyss but said nothing.

"Alright then. Just hold onto me." He said. He knelt down and poked his head over the edge. After a moment, he lowered himself over the side, holding onto the ledge.

"Grab my arms, give me some leverage." He puffed out.

"Plant your heels firmly. Hold onto me."

She grabbed him under the armpits. He put out a foot hesitantly to test.

"Shit, I'm in trouble. Help me back up, help me back up!"

"What's wrong?"

"I was wrong, it's too deep. Help me up!"

His foot slipped against the wall. His feet were running through the air. Helga's heels lifted up.

"Arnold!" She screamed.

"Helga!" He cried.

She fell forwards into the black. She knew she had flipped head over heels. Arnold's arms disappeared. She fell without seeing. In her mind, she knew she shouldn't scream. Somewhere, Hank would hear them and find them but she couldn't help it. She was terrified. She heard a thunderous thud below her and a yelp from Arnold. Her body smashed into his. He yelped again as her scrawny limbs pierced him. A terrible renting sound ripped through the air. They fell again, the vent giving way beneath them. They cried out as the metal gave way and tore at them.

They fell into a giant rolling basket. It was filled with dirty, dusty sheets.

"Helga?" Arnold groaned.

"Arnold." She whimpered. Her arm was on fire.

"Are you okay?" He said thickly.

"I'm hurt."

"Let me see."

She offered up her arm. He took it tenderly.

"I'm not gonna lie. You're bleeding a lot. I'll have to wrap it up."

He started ripping strips from the sheets they were laying in and tied up her arm gingerly. She noticed sadly it didn't take long for them to turn red.

"We have to move. They're bound to have heard that. Can you stand?" He asked. She moved her arm carefully. It stung badly but she figured she could at least walk.

"Come on. We have to get out of here quickly."

She pulled herself up by the side of the bin. Her arm screamed.

"Come on." He scooped her into his arms and put her gently on the floor. They were in some sort of stockroom. They walked out into a dark hallway and tried to quiet.

"Hey!" Someone unfamiliar shouted.

"Run!" Arnold shouted. He pushed her forward, determined to keep her in front of him and put himself between her and their new attacker.

"Wait!" The pursuer yelled. Arnold kept his arms out, his fingertips against the top of her spine to prod her on in front of him but she was slowing down too quickly.

"Arnold." She whimpered.

"What?" He gasped.

"I can't keep going. I have to stop." Tears streamed down her face.

"Then I'll fight." He said. They slowed until she could stop gently. The dark form following them slowed as well, keeping a safe distance.

"If you touch her, I will kill you with my bare hands!" Arnold bellowed. He fell into a natural defensive stance, his arms held up, knees bent, glowering intently at the figure.

"I come bearing no harm." The person called out. He held his arms a loft and walked slowly towards them.

"Said the liar." Arnold snarled.

"Look, just look at my face."

He stepped into the light. She stared at him. She almost recognized him, like a fuzzy image just on the cusp of her memories. He was tall, lean, with bronzed skin and golden curly hair like a halo around his head.

"Who are you?" She cried, her nerves completely frayed by all the new twists and turns.

"My name is Micah." He said

She gasped at the familiar name.

"I'm Nadine's older brother."


	7. This Is How I Disappear

Wicked Games

Chapter Six: This Is How I Disappear

She was alone.

Lila trembled on her spot on the floor. The tips of her fingers were tingling and prickling with the lack of circulation happening there. Hot, fast tears soaked her face, irritating the skin around the duct tape with their saltiness.

They had left her. Her only hopes for survival had flitted away on winged feet. She tried to control the shaking but she couldn't. Sooner or later, when they realized Helga and Arnold had done the sensible thing and gotten away, Rhonda and Hank would come back for her. The shining gleam of the long thin dagger on Rhonda's hip would not leave her mind. Even with her eyes shut, it's glint winked in the darkness. Rhonda would hurt her. She might even kill her. What had she done to deserve that? What horrible cruelty did she bestow to earn her best friend's hateful punishment? Out in the world, people raped and murdered and pillaged but she was being tortured for flirting?

No, that wasn't it. That was just a mask. Rhonda was disturbed. She was fucked up. There would be no rational answer to this because she wasn't rational. She was going to be cut up and murdered and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

She heard a sound. She looked up, foolishly though, into the inky blackness around the halo of spotlight she was confined in. Of course she couldn't see out of it but she could sense it. She could sense someone watching her. Instinctively she curled away from it, even though she knew it would protect her from nothing.

Rhonda stepped into the light suddenly, stiff as cardboard as she stood with her hands folded behind her back. Her eyes were narrowed at her, for what reason she couldn't have said. Perhaps her delusional mind was inventing reasons as to how she had ruined the whole scene. She stood there saying nothing though for such an excruciatingly long time. Although her seething black glare was too much to bare, she couldn't look away. She was terrified the moment she looked away, _it_ would happen. The definition of what _it_ was wouldn't form in her mind, but she knew she didn't want it to happen. Somewhere in her mind, stopping it involved meeting Rhonda's empty hateful gaze.

Suddenly Rhonda was stalking towards her. She flinched away, twisting her body left and right to try and wiggle away but she was no match for the untethered Rhonda. She caught her immediately, jerking her up by the shoulders onto her knees. She knelt down too, her face inches away from her own. Her eyes burned as she glared right into her face. Hank came into the room, his heavy footsteps giving him away.

"They're in the vents. Wait. Catch'em when they come out." His deep voice thundered. Lila was tempted to look over at him, confused by his simple exchange but couldn't tear her gaze from Rhonda. Rhonda said nothing, giving no indication she had even heard him, she just continued to glare into Lila's eyes. Hank seemed to get the message though. He thundered over and grabbed her roughly, holding her by the shoulders. She screamed then. No one heard it. No one would have recognized it as that. She screamed anyways though and tried to jerk away in his vice like grip as Rhonda pulled her knife out. It flashed in the light as she pulled back to strike. She grabbed Lila's hair, jerking her head violently to the side at an awkward angle to stop her struggling. She didn't though, still fighting as Rhonda sawed savagely through the tuft of hair fisted in her hand. She was cruel too, yanking at the roots, her scalp lifting up, until finally she got what she wanted. She shoved her to the ground. Lila's head banged against the floor, black spots danced across her vision again. She lay still, staring up at the spotlight hoping against hope they would leave her be now that they had defiled her.

"Done?" Hank grunted.

"Just leave her." Rhonda bit out. All she could hear were the short clips of her ankle boots as she walked what sounded far away. She could hear Hank's shuffled footsteps move away from her too. He stopped several feet away and the light shut off. The bright ghost of it dancing across her vision anyways, moving away every time she tried to look at it head on. Eventually it faded as it drifted away. She lay there in the dark, shivering as the cold crept up through the floor into her bones. She closed her eyes and let the dark swallow her up.


End file.
